Smart hints at LTE expansion in 2011

Filipino mobile operator Smart Communications, 100% owned by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), is reportedly planning to extend mobile broadband services based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to new areas later this year. Unconfirmed reports in local newspaper the Sun Star quote Smart product manager Anne Binuya as saying that the launch will take place in Davao in Mindanao, the National Capital Region and Cebu in the Visayas. In a press briefing Ms Binuya said: ‘We’re offering a new internet experience that will have an average speed of 50Mbps, and we’re releasing it commercially at the end of this year.’ Meanwhile Smart Communications’ senior technical services manager Jay Bacoy added that the cellco intends to roll out about 7,000 LTE cell sites across the country in a two-year timeframe, mainly targeting areas where it already operates 2G/3G cell sites. An initial LTE launch took place in April this year in Boracay.